Geoege peck gunk



(No Model.)

G. PLGJJNN.v

AIR GUN.

No.`337,395. Patented Mar. 9, 1886.

lideran drames Aram Oratori.

AIRHGUN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 337,395, dated March 9, 1886.

Application filed August 1Q, 1885. Serial No. 174,208. (No model.)

.To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE' PEOR GUNN, of Herkimer, in the county of Herkimer and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Air-Guns, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in air-guns; and the invention consists in the construction and arrangement of a magazine for holding a supply of balls, and a-shut-ott' or stop for the same, so combined with the other parts as to be operated automatically in the act of opening and closing lthe arm to compress the spring which operates the air-piston, as hereinafter more fully set forth.

Figure lis a longitudinal section showing the parts in position ready for firing. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the gun in the act of being charged, and Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the line x x of Fig. 1.

In constructing a gun on my plan I locate in the stock, directly in rear of the barrel, an

. airchamber, in which is placed a reciprocating piston withaspring for driving it forward when released by pulling the trigger T, and which piston is connected to the rear end of a guard-lever, L, the front end of which is pivoted to the barrel A, as shown, so that when the barrel is swung down, as represented in Fig. 2, it will force back the piston and compress the spring, these parts being essentially the same as shown in Patent No. 113,766, granted t0 Haviland and Gunn, April 18, 1871, to which reference is made for a more full description.

As originally constructed,the gun had to be charged by hand for each shot.

The object of my present invention is to provide it with a magazine that will contain numerous projectiles or balls, from which they shall be fed one at a time into the bore of the barrel, and the opening through which they pass from the magazine to the bore be automatically opened and closed by the movement oftheparts in the act of compressing the spring which operates the air-piston. To accomplish these results, I form a magazine by cutting a longitudinal groove, a, in the upper surface of the barrel A, as shown in the several figures, and which is continued rearward in the form of a longitudinal hole or bore through the receiver, to which the barrel is secured, to near its rear end, where it is connected by a vertical hole, t', with the ycentral bore, r, of the barrel, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2; or, in case the barrel and its receiver he made integral, as they obviously may be, the construction will be the sameTthat is to say, the rearl portion of the magazine will be a tubular hole, while its front portion will be a simple groove open along its top. Over the barrel I slip a thin sleeve or tube, C, of such a length as to cover thegrooved portion of the magazine ccas shown in Fig. l, the barrel of course being turned off round and smooth for that purpose, as shown in Fig. 3. This sleeve O is held against longitudinal movement by theshoulder at its rear end, and by a small screw, t, at its front end, or by any equivalent means, but is left free to turn on the barrel. A hole, b, is made in the side of this sleeveB near its front end, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, so that by turning the sleeve on the barrel this hole b may be made to register with the groove c, as shown in Fig. 1, or by turning it to one side, as shown in Fig. 3, it may be made to close the opening to the magazine.

For greater convenience in inserting the balls o, the hole b in the sleeve is made eou-.

siderably larger than the width ot' the groove c, and at a point where the hole Z is brought over the groove (t the latter is enlarged by cutting away the metal at each side, thus forming an enlarged chamber, c, as represented in Figs. 1 andS, into which the balls can be more readily inserted through the hole b, which is also much wider than the groove a. The chamber c being made concave, with its bottom on a line with the bottom ot' the groove a, or nearly so, it will be seen that when the balls are placed therein they will naturally gravitate to the center in line with the groove c, down which they will roll at once, if the muzzle be held slightly elevated. At the rear end of the magazine a an opening, t', is' made, through which a ball can drop down into the bore r, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the bore being of such a size as to prevent the ball o from rolling forward until moved by the sliding plug I in its rear, and as the ball is thus held directly under the hole i until moved therefrom by force it follows that but a single ball can enter the bore at a time. To shove this` ball forward, and at the same time close the opening t', I provide a plug, I, the front port-ion of which is of a diameter to cor- ISO respond with the bore, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, its rear portion being somewhat larger, and having an annular groove, c, cut in it, in which the rear bent portion of a slide, J, engages, as shown, the rear end of this plug I being provided with an annular projection or shoulder, which fits into a corresponding vrecess in the rear end of the barrel when the arm is closed, and thus holds the plug secure against any forward movement when the gun.

is tired. At its front end the slide J is connected to the front end of the guard-lever L, either by the teeth n and m, as shown, or by any equivalent connection, which as the barrel is swung on its journal G (which connects it to the stock B) will iorce the slide backward, and thereby force the plug I back, as shown in Fie'. 2, so that its front end will be drawn back of the hole z', thus opening the same and permitting the rearmost ofthe balls in the magazine to drop down into the bore. As the gun is closed by bringing the barrel back into position, as represented in Fig. 1, the slide J and plug I are given a reverse movement, whereby the ball c, that has entered the bore, is shoved forward by the front end t f` plug I, which at the same time slides under the hole t' and closes the same, and prevents any more of the balls from entering the bore until the hole is reopened by moving the plug I back again.

By this construction and arrangement of the parts it will be seen that every time the barrel is moved to compress the spring in the stock the hole t is opened, a ball delivered from the magazine into the bore, and as the barrel is swung baelr into position the hole z' is closed, all automatically and by the saine motions as were required to charge the original arm, and Without stopping to inserta ball separately each time, as was formerly necessary.

To lock the barrel to the stock when closed, a latch, d, is pivoted to the top ot' the barrel by a pin, g, under the front endof which a fiat spring, e, engages, as shown in Figs. l

and 2, this spring being held in place at its opposite end by the sight Z, which screws into the barrel or receiver. Near its rear end this latch is provided with lateral shoulders, which engage against the rear side of a vertical projection,j", on the stock, and which hasa recess at its center for the latch d to rest in.

Vhile I have shown the tubular breechplug I as being used in a gun having a hinged barrel, with means for automatically moving the plug, it is obvious that it may be used in other styles of air-guns, of which there are many now manufactured-as, for instance, in those in which the air-piston is moved bya rod projecting at the rear, or those in which it is moved by a sliding movement ot' the barrel, the plug in suoli cases being provided with means i'or moving it to and fro by hand, to open and close the magazine; and for that reason I do not limit myself to its use in connection with this particular style of gun only. o, too, instead of the annular groove in the plug, a simple recess, with the bent end of slide J engaging therein, will serve to connect them; or the plug may have a lug formed on one side, and the slide be connected thereto by a pin, the result and operation being the same; In like manner the front end of slide J may be connected to the en'dof lever L by a single tooth or projection of proper length formed on the lever, and inade to engage in a hole in slide J; or they may be connected by a link pivoted at one end to the slide, and at the other end to the front end of lever L, the only requisite being that they shall bc so connected that when the barrel is tipped to and `fro on its pivot it shall impart to the plug I a reciprocating movement, as herein set forth, the manner of connecting the parts being a mere matter of choice l'or the manufacturer. The plan shown is, however, simple and cheap, and is therefore preferred.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim isl. lIn combination with the barrel A, the

magazine a, more or less of which shall consist of an open groove, and the rotating sleeve C, provided with a hole, b, said sleeve being arranged to turn on the barrel and open or close the magazine, substantially as shown and described.

2. In combination withthe magazine a and the rotating sleeve C, having a hole, b, therein, the concave chamber or enlargement c in said parts being constructed and arranged to operate substantially as described, whereby the passage from the magazine to the bore of the gun is automatically opened and closed in the act of swinging the barrel to compress the spring in the stock, as set forth.

4. The combination of the barrel A, having a magazine, a, arranged thereon, and eonnectedwith the bore thereofl by a transverse hole, i', with the reciprocating plug I, the slide J, connected to said plug and provided with the teeth m, and the lever L, provided with corresponding teeth, n, all constructed and arranged for joint operation substantially as described.

5. The combination, in an airlgun, cfa magazine and a barrel with a transverse opening leading from the magazine to the bore of the IOO 

